The mystery of the Indus script: Dravidian, Sanskrit or not a language at all?

Sub : History

Sec: Ancient India

Context:

The remains of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) were first discovered in the The Indus script, found on seals, tablets, and other artifacts, has remained undeciphered for nearly a century despite numerous attempts.
Recent research by Bangalore-based software engineer Bahata Ansumali Mukhopadhyay presents a new interpretation.
She argues that the Indus script was not a phonetic system encoding words, but rather a symbolic script used mainly for commercial purposes, such as tax stamps and permits.

Indus script:

The IVC, which peaked between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE, spanned a vast area across modern-day Pakistan and northwestern India.
The script is typically found on seals, tablets, and metal objects, often featuring animal or human motifs.
Scholars disagree on the number of symbols in the script, with estimates ranging from 62 to 676. The language of the script is also debated, with some connecting it to Brahmi or Sanskrit, while others argue it had Dravidian roots.

Language of the Indus Script:

Brahmi Connection: Some early scholars, including Sir Alexander Cunningham, suggested links between the Indus script and the Brahmi script (the ancestor of South Asian scripts). However, Asko Parpola refuted this, arguing that Brahmi is based on Aramaic, a script introduced by the Persian Empire much later than the Indus Civilization.
Sanskrit Connection: Scholars like R. Rao and others attempted to connect the script to Sanskrit. However, evidence points to the Aryans arriving in the Indus region only after the decline of the Indus Civilization, making this link unlikely.
Dravidian Language Theory: Asko Parpola and other researchers, including Iravatham Mahadevan, argue that the Indus script may be related to Dravidian languages, based on similarities in vocabulary and structure.

Mukhopadhyay’s Critique of Phonetic Decoding:

Mukhopadhyay rejects the idea that the Indus script is phonetic or encodes specific words or names, including the names of deities.
According to her, the Indus signs were likely pictorial and symbolic, serving practical purposes like commercial record-keeping, not religious or literary functions.
The debate about the Indus script continues, with scholars divided on whether it represents a language, a system of symbols, or something else entirely.